Monopoly, Clue, Chutes and Ladders, Candy Land -- how many of us have not encountered at least one of these games at some point? Indeed, whether as kids or as adults, playing with board games is a fun and enjoyable way to spend time with family and friends. For an added twist to the conventional board game titles that you've already played, why don't you try creating your own board game? Making your own doesn't require a lot of fancy materials or tedious labor -- you can just make do with materials already lying around your house. What's more, it's surely an activity that will unleash your creativity and allow you to add your personal touch to the game, making your future game nights even more fun!
- Determine the age bracket for which you want to create a board game. Knowing the age range of your tentative players would allow you to design the game as simple or as detailed as you wish it to be, and would allow you to create age-appropriate rules. For instance, if you are designing the game for young children, you would want to create something that is simple, easy-to-understand, fun, and would promote camaraderie and learning among the children at the same time. For adults, you could create something that is more competitive and exciting -- sky's the limit!
- Think of a theme for your game. Are you interested to create a game that is based on some skill, such as Pictionary, Scrabble or Clue? Or are you more interested to create a path game that is purely based on luck and chance, such as Chutes and Ladders? If so, will it be one where you are a pirate and must travel the seas to find lost treasure, or will you be trapped in haunted mansion and must avoid the monsters and ghosts? Use your imagination when deciding. You could use ideas from existing games to help you get started.
- Map out the rules of and directions for the game. As much as possible, try to keep the rules simple, so that new players will catch on quickly and will have a fun playing experience in general. Here are some things to keep in mind when creating the rules:
- What is the end goal of the game?
- How would the players win?
- What is the minimum and maximum number of players that can play?
- Is the game meant purely for enjoyment purposes, educational purposes, or a mixture of both?
- What are the pieces needed for the game? (Players' markers, dice, cards, etc.)
- Sketch a rough draft of your board design. This will allow you to determine whether you need to include more or less details in your final design. For path games, make sure to add start and finishing places, and to set out a clear path or road for the character(s) to travel along. You can choose to create your own designs for the images and pictures that will go on your game, but if you would rather use ready-made images, there are many resources on the Internet that you can do a search on and download.
- Find a material for your base board. You can use a long sheet of paper, but it would be better to choose a sturdier material such as cardboard, cardstock or poster board, so that your game pieces won't get knocked-over if there is a breeze. You can even use old pizza boxes. Another option would be to use the board from an old game that you do not use anymore, and just paint over it or cover with clean paper for you to create the new game design on. Decorate the board with the design that you sketched.
- There is no limit to the things that you can use to decorate your board -- use ready-made printouts, cutouts from magazines, patterned paper, paint, markers -- anything that will allow you to jazz up your board and make your design pop-up!
- Make your board design as colorful as possible, so as to capture and maintain the interest of your players.
- Create the game pieces. You can draw the images on paper, then tape or glue them to your preferred material, such as light cardboard (the type used on cereal boxes). To make the pieces stand, cut out a strip of cardboard that you can fold into a 3D triangle (similar to picture frame stands), then stick to the back of the piece for support. You could also use pieces from other game sets. You can make the character pieces in line with the theme of your game -- if the game is about pirates, create pirate-related game pieces.
- If your game has other playing pieces aside from the place markers such as cards or tokens, draw these out as well. Good materials to use for the game cards are index cards or cardstock.
- If your game involves the use of a dice or spinner, you can just use the ones from your existing games, or create your own from cardboard and markers.
- Print out the directions for your game as well, so that players can just refer to that in case you are not around to explain the rules.
- Enjoy your finished game. Test play as many times as you can to ensure that the game rules are fair, and that the game concept is fun and enjoyable. Modify the rules if they turn out to be confusing. After making sure that everything is in the correct order, introduce your game to your family and friends and have them enjoy it as well!
Tips
- Model the game board after themes such as a map, a movie, or a holiday. For example, if the concept of your game is set in a city, you could create game pieces for stores, trees, buildings and such.
- Make it fun and colorful, but try to stick to the theme as much as you can. You don't want a board game that has an unclear theme, as it might confuse your players as well.
- Play around with the rules.
- For instance, rather than always moving a set number of spaces in a path game, provide the player with incentives or special tokens to move in different directions for a set time period.
- Add game spaces that take you to other spaces or would triple your next roll.
- Have a different end goal instead of merely landing on the "finish" space -- land on the water fountain 10 times, collect all the gold pieces, etc. You can choose to make a "finish" space, or you can make it loop like Monopoly does. It's all up to you.
- Use a die or make cards that show which color to move to (like in Candy Land).
- If your board game design involves straight boxes, use a ruler when laying it out on the board in order to make it look nice and neat.
- Get the opinions and ideas of others before you finalize your game. Ask your friends, family, and think to yourself, "is this what I want?" Remember, your friends and family will be playing with the game as well, so you want it to be appealing to them as much as possible.
Warnings
- Don't make the rules too complicated. Keep them short and simple. Anything too complicated will make the players lose interest quickly.
- Make sure that your game rules are fair. The point of the game is to create an enjoyable, fun and positive experience, and not spark any misunderstanding among the players.
Things You'll Need
- A base for your board game -- cardboard, cardstock, poster board, old pizza boxes, or old boards from other games you do not use anymore
- Game Pieces -- use existing pieces from your other games, or design your own
- Dice -- use existing dice from your other games, or create your own
- Coloring materials -- markers, paints
- Computer print-outs or magazine cut-outs for the design pieces
- Scissors
- Glue or tape
